Murdered graduates’ family start national charity

The friends and families of murdered University of Sheffield graduates James Kouzaris and James Cooper have set up a charity in their memory which aims to raise over £1 Million Pounds in the next 12 Months.

Kouzaris, 24, and Cooper, 25, who studied Urban Studies Planning and Management respectively, were shot while on holiday in Sarasota, Florida on April 16th.

The charity, named “Always A Chance”, will provide assistance, advice, and financial support to victims of violent crime, as well as hosting events to promote awareness to the cause.

Their description on their website reads: “Always A Chance has been established in their memory to change the lives of young people at risk of being involved with violent crime”.

Upcoming events include a coffee and cupcake day, ten-kilometre runs, clothes collections, and a mountain endurance challenge in the Peaks.

16-year-old Shawn Tyson, who has links to local gangs, is being prosecuted for the murder and faces a life sentence if he is found guilty.

Court papers from the US have revealed that Tyson was found with the same type of bullets that killed the two men.

But police are still searching for information about a possible accomplice, as the documents show one witness claimed he saw Kouzaris and Cooper being chased by two black men.

The victims were found 12 miles away from their hotel and it is not known why they ventured so far away from their hotel and into a gang-ridden slum of the city.

Tyson is likely to be part of the Second Line Gang, who operate in the Sarasota neighbourhood and are linked to several robberies and murders in the area.

He had the nickname “Young Savage” tattooed across his chest which investigators say is a trademark of the gang.

A private detective has speculated that Tyson and his accomplice wanted to rob the two men in order to buy Crystal Meth, a popular yet illegal drug in the area.

Private Eye Bill Warner posted on his blog that he got a text from “Candy” reading: “I know a guy who was involved in killing those British tourists, …he was trying to score ice (Crystal Meth) and helped kill them.”

But the victims were both found wearing expensive watches and had just over $60 dollars each in their pockets.

More evidence surrounding the case is set to be published later this month.

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